Larry Page and Sergey Brin: Biography
Larry Page and Sergey Brin are the co-founders of Google, one of the largest and most influential technology companies in the world. Both Page and Brin were pivotal in revolutionizing the way people access and interact with information through the internet. Their collaboration led to the creation of Google Search, which has since become an integral part of the daily lives of millions.
Here is an overview of their biographies:
1. Early Life:
Larry Page:
- Full Name: Lawrence Edward Page
- Born: March 26, 1973
- Place of Birth: East Lansing, Michigan, USA
- Parents: Carl Page (pioneer in computer science and early computer programming) and Gloria Page (pioneer in pioneering computer programming and early computer science).
- Education:
- High School: East Lansing High School (Graduated 1991).
- Bachelor’s Degree: Page received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1995.
- Master’s Degree: He went on to study at Stanford University where he pursued a Ph.D. in computer science, focusing on search engines and data mining.
Sergey Brin:
- Full Name: Sergey Mikhailovich Brin
- Born: August 21, 1973
- Place of Birth: Moscow, Soviet Union (now Russia)
- Parents: Mikhail Brin (father) and Eugenia Brin (mother).
- His family emigrated from the Soviet Union to the United States when Sergey was six years old.
- Education:
- High School: Graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Maryland.
- Bachelor’s Degree: Brin graduated from University of Maryland with a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science in 1993.
- Master’s Degree: He attended Stanford University to pursue a Ph.D. in Computer Science, where he met Larry Page.
2. Meeting at Stanford University:
- In 1995, Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford University while both were pursuing their graduate studies in computer science.
- Despite having different personalities, Page and Brin found common ground in their shared interest in computer science and technology. They both had an ambition to improve the accessibility of information through the internet.
3. The Birth of Google:
- In 1996, Page and Brin began collaborating on a research project called BackRub, which later evolved into Google. The project was initially aimed at creating a better search engine that could analyze the links between websites to determine their relevance and importance.
- The name Google comes from the mathematical term “googol,” which represents the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. This reflected their goal of organizing vast amounts of information on the web.
- Their search engine’s PageRank algorithm was a breakthrough in ranking search results based on the number and quality of links pointing to a webpage. This helped Google deliver more relevant results compared to existing search engines at the time.
4. Founding of Google Inc. (1998):
- In September 1998, Page and Brin founded Google Inc. from a garage in Menlo Park, California with the help of their first investor, Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems.
- They initially ran Google on a small budget and continued developing the technology and business model.
- By 2000, Google became one of the leading search engines on the internet, and its popularity continued to grow as it provided superior search results with fewer ads.
5. Google’s Growth:
- In 2004, Google went public with an initial public offering (IPO), which raised $1.67 billion and made Page and Brin billionaires at a young age.
- Over the years, Google expanded into various services and products beyond search, including Google Ads, Google Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Chrome, Google Drive, and more.
- Google’s growth and influence continued to expand globally, and the company became a key player in the technology sector.
6. Other Ventures and Achievements:
Larry Page:
- Google X: Page helped establish Google X (later known as X Development LLC), a secretive innovation lab at Google. X works on cutting-edge technologies such as self-driving cars, Project Loon (balloons providing internet to rural areas), and Google Glass.
- Alphabet Inc.: In 2015, Page and Brin restructured Google, creating a new parent company called Alphabet Inc., with Google as its largest subsidiary. Page became the CEO of Alphabet, while Sundar Pichai was appointed CEO of Google.
- Wealth: As of 2025, Page’s estimated net worth is several billion dollars, thanks to his stake in Alphabet Inc.
Sergey Brin:
- Google Glass: Sergey Brin was also deeply involved in the development of Google Glass, a wearable computer with an optical head-mounted display.
- Philanthropy: Brin has made significant philanthropic contributions, particularly in the areas of health and science. He has funded research on neurodegenerative diseases and was involved in efforts to fight the effects of Parkinson’s disease (which his mother was diagnosed with).
- Wealth: Like Page, Brin’s wealth is derived from his ownership in Alphabet Inc. His estimated net worth is also several billion dollars.
7. Personal Lives:
- Larry Page: In 2007, Page married Lucinda Southworth, a scientist and philanthropist. The couple has two children together.
- Sergey Brin: Brin was previously married to Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of 23andMe, a genetics testing company. They divorced in 2015. Brin later married Nicole Shanahan, a legal expert and entrepreneur, in 2018. They have one child together.
8. Legacy:
- Google’s Impact: Google revolutionized how the world searches for and consumes information. It has expanded its reach into various domains such as mobile devices (via Android), cloud computing, advertising, and artificial intelligence (AI).
- Innovation: Page and Brin are widely regarded as visionaries who changed the technological landscape forever, fostering innovations that have reshaped industries and society.
- Tech Leadership: While both stepped down from day-to-day operations at Google, Page and Brin remain influential in the technology world, and their contributions to the digital age will continue to shape the future.
Conclusion:
Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s journey from graduate students to the co-founders of one of the largest and most influential companies in the world is a testament to their brilliance, determination, and innovation. Their creation, Google, has become a household name, and they continue to shape the world through their investments and philanthropic efforts.
